Paul van Westendorp, B.C.’s provincial apiculturist, has notified the B.C. beekeeping community that he has now rescinded the five Small Hive Beetle hold order areas (euphemistically known as quarantine zones) in the Fraser Valley effective Wednesday, Oct. 7. The lifting of the orders comes a week before they were to expire, and come after van […]

Provincial bee inspectors in British Columbia have discovered three more apiaries along the Canada-U.S. border with adult small hive beetles since the discovery of a single beetle on August 24. The discoveries, which provincial apiculturist Paul van Westendorp said are likely not the last, have resulted in several overlapping quarantine zones between Abbotsford and Langley. […]

Beekeepers in British Columbia have just joined a less-than-illustrious club, the Small Hive Beetle club, with the discovery of a single adult in a honey bee colony in Abbotsford. The discovery, made August 24 and confirmed on August 27, is the first recorded instance of the sub-Saharan beetle in the province. I’ve written a story […]

Get ready for the B.C. Honey Producers Association’s semi-annual general meeting and Education Day on March 13-14 in Kamloops. The BCHPA has organized a great education program for Saturday, March 14, following their regular business day on Friday. You can register here. They are also bringing back, by popular demand, the Certified Instructors Course, which […]

Last week, as we were getting ready to treat our colonies for varroa, Amanda discovered one that had Deformed Wing Virus. It is a particularly heartbreaking disease to find, since the predominant physical issue is that the bees have either shrivelled wings or no wings at all. Watching a wingless bee crawl around on the […]

British Columbia beekeepers may remember Jim Bach, once the state apiculturist for Washington. I received word Friday from Paul van Westendorp, B.C.’s provincial apiculturist, that Bach died suddenly this week. Paul reminded me that Jim, for too long a bachelor, had found a common bond with Fran Kay, the B.C. beekeeper dynamo who for a […]

The federal government of Canada is about to begin consultations with Canadian beekeepers and professional apiculturists about whether it should re-open the Canada-U.S. border to the importation of American bee packages. This spring the Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced it would conduct another risk assessment study to determine if the conditions for keeping the border […]

Two Alberta honey producers have been handed hefty fines for using unregistered pest control products in their beehives. This week Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency announced it had fined Russell Severson of Camrose, Alberta, $31,200 for using an unapproved amitraz-based insecticide, and Miedema Honey Farm Inc. of Barrhead, Alberta, $8,000 for using an unapproved […]

About . . .

Honey Bee Zen Apiaries Ltd and its subsidiary, Swan Valley Honey Ltd., are known for their sustainable beekeeping practices and a growing list of terroir-based niche honeys.
Based in the verdant Creston Valley in B.C.'s Central Kootenay region, we produce award-winning honeys derived from a vast array of forages, including alfalfa, dutch clover, snowberry, thistle, wild fruits, fireweed, sweet clover and more. The land has provided our Swan Valley branded-honey a gentle, delectable, sweetness sought after throughout the province. We supply over 30 retail locations in B.C.
We are committed to working with farmers who respect the land they use and the bees we provide, and we seek out strong and beneficial relationships. We are interested in the science and breeding of bees, the production of honey and hive products, and trying to resolve the challenges bees and their keepers around the world face.